Methods and systems for adjusting the amount of time required to consume a media asset based on a current trip of a user

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are described herein for a media guidance application that adjusts the amount of time required to consume a media asset based on a current trip of a user. For example, the media guidance application may determine, based on the current progress of the user in the media asset, whether or not the user with complete the media asset before the end of a current trip.

BACKGROUND

In conventional systems, users have a plethora of media content at theirdisposal. Furthermore, given advances in technology users are able toconsume content on devices on which they previously could not. Forexample, users may access media on one or more mobile (e.g.,smartphones, tablets, etc.) or stationary (e.g., televisions) devices.

Despite this plethora of media content, users' consumption of this mediacontent (whether on a mobile or stationary device) may be interruptedbased on the circumstances of the user or the provider of the content.For example, some media content may only be available to a user from aprovider during a specific time period (e.g., during the month ofAugust), and the user may not be able to complete the media contentduring that specific time period. In another example, while a user maybe able to stream media content to a mobile device (e.g., on his or herway to work), connectivity issues may arise that prevent media frombeing streamed, and thus completing the media content. Finally, despitecontent being available to a user (e.g., on a mobile device), theschedule of the user (e.g., indicating a time at which the user can nolonger consume the media content) may prevent the user from completingthe media content.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, methods and systems are described herein for a mediaguidance application that alerts a user regarding the availability ofmedia content. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine, based on the current progress of the user in media content,whether or not the user will complete the media content while the mediacontent is available.

For example, if the media content is only available to a user from aprovider during a specific time period (e.g., during the month ofAugust), and the media guidance application determines, given thecurrent viewing progress of the user, that the user is unlikely tofinish the media content (e.g., an episode of a program series or theentire program series) during the time period, the media guidanceapplication may alert the user. In another example, a mobile device of auser may need Internet connectivity to present media content, and themedia guidance application may determine that connectivity issues mayarise at a predetermined time (e.g., based on prior history of use).Accordingly, the media guidance application may determine whether or notmedia content currently being consumed by the user will be completedprior to the time of limited connectivity. If not, the media guidanceapplication may alert the user.

In yet another example, a mobile device of a user may be low on batterypower, and the media guidance application may determine that the mobiledevice will exhaust its power at a predetermined time (e.g., based onbattery usage rates). Accordingly, the media guidance application maydetermine whether or not media content currently being consumed by theuser will be completed prior to the power exhaustion. If not, the mediaguidance application may alert the user. Finally, in another example,despite content being available to a user, the schedule of the user mayindicate a time at which the user can no longer consume the mediacontent. The media guidance application may determine whether or notmedia content currently being consumed by the user will be completedprior to that time. If not, the media guidance application may alert theuser.

In any of these cases, the media guidance application may notify theuser and/or recommend actions to allow the user to complete the mediacontent. For example, the media guidance application may recommend oneor more fast-access playback operations such as fast-forwarding thecontent, skipping a portion of the content, etc. Additionally oralternatively, the media guidance application may provide supplementalinformation (e.g., textual summary, highlight clips, etc.) regarding theportion of the media content that was subject to (e.g., fast-forwardedthrough, skipped over, etc.) due to the action.

In some aspects, the media guidance application may track the viewingprogress of a user through a series of media content, wherein the seriesof media content has an availability window. For example, using one ormore user profiling techniques, the media guidance application maymonitor the point of progress or playback of a user through mediacontent. The media content may be associated with an availability windowthat indicates a period of time at which the media content is available.

The media guidance application may then estimate a date of completion ofthe series of media content based on the viewing progress of the user.For example, the media guidance application may determine a rate atwhich the user consumes the series of media content as well as determinea length of the series of media content. The media guidance applicationmay then determine, given the rate at which the user consumes the seriesof media content and the length of the series of media content, anamount of time required to consume the entire length of the series ofmedia content, and add the amount of time required to consume the entirelength of the series of media content to a current date to estimate thedate of completion.

The media guidance application may determine whether the date ofcompletion corresponds to the availability window. For example, themedia guidance application may determine whether or not the estimateddate of completion falls within the time period during which the mediacontent is available. In another example, the media guidance applicationmay determine that the availability window corresponds to the release ofa new media content related to already released media content. Forexample, the media guidance application may determine that the userwishes to consume already released media content (e.g., previous seasonsof a television program) before new media content is released (e.g.,before the start of the new season of the television program). Forexample, the series of media content may correspond to a program serieswith a finite number of released episodes, and the date of completionmay correspond to a date when the viewing progress of the user includesan episode, of the finite number of released episodes, that was mostrecently released.

In response to determining that the date of completion does notcorrespond to the availability window, the media guidance applicationmay recommend an action to accelerate the viewing progress of the user.For example, the media guidance application may recommend an action thataccelerates the viewing progress of the user by advancing a currentpoint of playback in the series of media content to a later point ofplayback in the series of media content. For example, in response todetermining that the user will not finish a movie, given the currentplayback position of the user, the media guidance application mayrecommend that the user fast-forward or skip over a portion of the movieso that the user may finish the movie.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may further identifya portion of the series of media content subject to the action based oncritical reviews of the series of media content. For example, inresponse to determining that the date of completion does not correspondto the availability window, the media guidance application may identifyportions of the media content (e.g., particular scenes, chapters,episodes, etc.) that may be subject to the action (e.g., fast-forwardedthrough, skipped over, etc.) based on critical reviews of thatparticular portion (e.g., indicating that the portion is unimportant,uninteresting, etc.).

In some aspects, the media guidance application may determine an amountof time remaining in a current trip of a user. For example, the mediaguidance application may determine (e.g., via a user input or throughautomatic detection) a travel itinerary associated with the current tripof a user. The travel itinerary may include information associated witha destination location, an arrival time, and/or a travel route. Based ona travel itinerary associated with the current trip of a user, the mediaguidance application may determine that a user is currently fifteenminutes away from his or her destination.

The media guidance application may also determine an amount of timeremaining in a media asset being consumed by the user during the currenttrip. For example, the media guidance application may determine anamount of time between a current point of playback (e.g., theforty-minute mark) in the media asset and an end point (e.g., thesixty-minute mark in an hour-long media asset) of the media asset.

The media guidance application may compare the amount of time remainingin the current trip to the amount of time remaining in the media asset.For example, the media guidance application may compare the amount oftime remaining in the current trip to the amount of time remaining inthe media asset to determine whether or not the user will finish themedia asset prior to the end of the current trip.

In response to detecting a discrepancy between the amount of timeremaining in the current trip and the amount of time remaining in themedia asset, the media guidance application may recommend a fast-accessplayback operation to perform on the media asset to rectify thediscrepancy. For example, the media guidance application may generatefor display an overlay featuring various options for fast-forwarding,skipping a portion of the media asset, etc. Additionally, the mediaguidance application may generate for display summary informationassociated with a portion of the media asset subject to the fast-accessplayback operation.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may also monitor theprogress of the current trip of the user. For example, the mediaguidance application may receive updates to the travel itinerary. Inresponse to determining a change in the determined travel itinerary, themedia guidance application may recalculate the amount of time remainingin the current trip. After recalculating the amount of time remaining inthe current trip, the media guidance application may recommend, if any,different fast-access playback operations.

It should be noted that the systems and/or methods described above maybe applied to, or used in accordance with, other systems, methods and/orapparatuses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the disclosure will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative example of a display screen for use inperforming media guidance application operations in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows another illustrative example of a display screen used toselect fast access-playback operation for accelerating the viewingprogress of a user with regards to media content in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an illustrative user equipment device inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative media system in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a diagram describing a travel itinerary associated with acurrent trip of a user in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for recommending an actionto accelerate the viewing progress of the user in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for recommending afast-access playback operation to perform on a media asset to rectify adiscrepancy between the amount of time remaining in the current trip andthe amount of time remaining in the media asset in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining a playbackoperation that corresponds to the amount of acceleration needed inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for recommending fast-accessplayback operations with supplemental information in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Methods and systems are described herein for a media guidanceapplication that alerts a user regarding the availability of mediacontent. For example, the media guidance application may determine,based on the current progress of the user, whether or not the user willcomplete the media content while the media content is available. Asreferred to herein, a “media guidance application,” “interactive mediaguidance application,” or “guidance application” refers to anapplication that provides an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate content selections and easily identify content that they maydesire.

Media guidance applications may take various forms depending on thecontent for which they provide guidance. One typical type of mediaguidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to aselectronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that,among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many typesof content or media assets. Interactive media guidance applications maygenerate graphical user interface screens that enable a user to navigateamong, locate and select content. As referred to herein, the terms“media asset” and “content” should be understood to mean anelectronically consumable user asset, such as television programming, aswell as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand(VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming content, downloadablecontent, Webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio, content information,pictures, rotating images, documents, playlists, websites, articles,books, electronic books, blogs, advertisements, chat sessions, socialmedia, applications, games, and/or any other media or multimedia and/orcombination of the same.

As referred to herein, the term “multimedia” should be understood tomean content that utilizes at least two different content formsdescribed above, for example, text, audio, images, video, orinteractivity content forms. Content may be recorded, played, displayedor accessed by user equipment devices, but can also be part of a liveperformance.

The media guidance application and/or any instructions for performingany of the embodiments discussed herein may be encoded on computerreadable media. Computer readable media includes any media capable ofstoring data. The computer readable media may be transitory, including,but not limited to, propagating electrical or electromagnetic signals,or may be non-transitory including, but not limited to, volatile andnon-volatile computer memory or storage devices such as a hard disk,floppy disk, USB drive, DVD, CD, media cards, register memory, processorcaches, Random Access Memory (“RAM”), etc.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may also performmedia guidance application operations. As referred to herein, a “mediaguidance application operation” refers to any operation corresponding toproviding, receiving, and/or generating media guidance data forconsumption by a user. For example, media guidance applicationoperations include displaying media guidance data, providing options tonavigate, select, and edit media guidance data or content (e.g., a mediaasset) associated with media guidance data, and/or manipulating a deviceused to access (e.g., a display device), retrieve (e.g., a server),and/or associate media guidance data with a user (e.g., a user devicefor monitoring brain activity). It should be noted that any embodimentfeaturing one media guidance application operation (e.g., a fast-accessplayback operation) may also be applied to any other media guidanceapplication operation.

One of the functions of the media guidance application is to providemedia guidance data to users. As referred to herein, the phrase “mediaguidance data” or “guidance data” should be understood to mean any datarelated to content or data used in operating the guidance application.For example, the guidance data may include program information, guidanceapplication settings, user preferences, user profile information, medialistings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times, broadcastchannels, titles, descriptions, ratings information (e.g., parentalcontrol ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or category information,actor information, logo data for broadcasters' or providers' logos,etc.), media format (e.g., standard definition, high definition, 3D,etc.), advertisement information (e.g., text, images, media clips,etc.), on-demand information, blogs, websites, and any other type ofguidance data that is helpful for a user to navigate among and locatedesired content selections.

Other operations of a media guidance application are playing mediaassets and providing fast access playback operations for those mediaassets. As referred to herein, the phrase “fast-access playbackoperations” should be understood to mean any media guidance applicationoperation that pertains to playing back a non-linear media asset fasterthan normal playback speed or in a different order than the media assetis designed to be played, such as a fast-forward, rewind, skip, chapterselection, segment selection, skip segment, jump segment, next segment,previous segment, skip advertisement or commercial, next chapter,previous chapter or any other operation that does not play back themedia asset at normal playback speed. The fast-access playback operationmay be any playback operation that is not “play,” where the playoperation plays back the media asset at normal playback speed.

Still other operations of the media guidance application may include thecontrol of devices used to consume media assets. For example, a mediaguidance application operation may include turning a device on and off,raising the volume associated with a device, adjusting the displaysettings of a device, assigning parental controls, transferringinformation from one device to another, storing and/or recordingcontent, entering authorization information and/or payment information,etc.

In some embodiments, a media guidance application operation may includereceiving information from a particular source (e.g., a website, aprofile associated with a user, a content provider, a social medianetwork, etc.) for use in determining information about media content,determining a portion of a media content subject to a fast-accessplayback operation, determining the availability of content, etc.

For example, the media guidance application may retrieve a list offriends (e.g., a social network buddy list), contacts (e.g., retrievedfrom a phone/text message/e-mail account associated with the user),and/or other listings featuring other entities with known associationsto the user and obtain information about media content such as whatportions, if any, were important to one or more plotlines of the mediacontent, what portions were interesting (or not interesting), whatportions may be skipped or fast-forwarded through, what content shouldbe included in supplemental information about a portion of media contentsubject to a fast-access playback operation, etc.

As used herein, a “social network” refers to a platform that facilitatesnetworking and/or social relations among people who, for example, shareinterests, activities, backgrounds, and/or real-life connections. Insome cases, social networks may facilitate communication betweenmultiple user devices (e.g., computers, televisions, smartphones,tablets, etc.) associated with different users by exchanging contentfrom one device to another via a social media server. As used herein, a“social media server” refers to a computer server that facilitates asocial network. For example, a social media server owned/operated/usedby a social media provider may make content (e.g., status updates,microblog posts, images, graphic messages, etc.) associated with a firstuser accessible to a second user that is within the same social networkas the first user. In such cases, classes of entities may correspond tothe level of access and/or the amount or type of content associated witha first user that is accessible to a second user.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieveinformation that indicates the availability of media content. Asdescribed herein, the “availability” of media content relates to whetheror not a user may consume media content at a given time. Theavailability may be based on terms of a provider of the media content,based on issues (such as connectivity) associated with obtaining themedia content, based on circumstances of the user (e.g., the schedule ofthe user), based on circumstances of a user device (e.g., battery life,software and/or hardware compatibility issues, etc.), and/or based onany other factor that may determine whether or not a user can accessmedia content at a given time.

In some embodiments, the availability of media content may be describedas an availability window. As referred to herein, an “availabilitywindow” is a period of time, whether contiguous or non-contiguous, atwhich a user may access the media content. For example, an availabilitywindow may include a period of time when a provider of the media contentallows a user to access the content or when a user is able to access themedia content. For example, the availability window may be expressed asa range of dates (e.g., beginning on a first date and ending on a seconddate) or may be expressed relative to one or more dates. For example,the availability window may be expressed as any date before, after, oron a threshold date.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may notify andrecommend action be taken (e.g., the performance of one or morefast-access playback operations) in response to determining that theavailability of media content may end before a user finishes consumingthe media content.

For example, if the media content is only available to a user from aprovider during a specific time period (e.g., during the month ofAugust), and the media guidance application determines, given thecurrent viewing progress of the user, that the user is unlikely tofinish the media content (e.g., an episode of a program series or theentire program series) during the time period, the media guidanceapplication may alert the user and/or recommend one or more correctiveactions. In another example, a mobile device of a user may need Internetconnectivity to present media content, and the media guidanceapplication may determine that connectivity issues may arise at apredetermined time (e.g., based on prior history of use). The mediaguidance application may determine whether or not media contentcurrently being consumed by the user will be completed prior to the timeof limited connectivity. If not, the media guidance application mayalert the user and/or recommend one or more corrective actions.

In yet another example, a mobile device of a user may be low on batterypower, and the media guidance application may determine that the mobiledevice will exhaust its power at a predetermined time (e.g., based onbattery usage rates). The media guidance application may determinewhether or not media content currently being consumed by the user willbe completed prior to the power exhaustion. If not, the media guidanceapplication may alert the user and/or recommend one or more correctiveactions. Finally, in another example, despite content being available toa user, the schedule of the user may indicate a time at which the usercan no longer consume the media content. The media guidance applicationmay determine whether or not media content currently being consumed bythe user will be completed prior to that time. If not, the mediaguidance application may alert the user and/or recommend one or morecorrective actions.

Additionally or alternatively, the media guidance application mayprovide supplemental information (e.g., textual summary, highlightclips, etc.) regarding the portion of the media content that was subjectto (e.g., fast-forwarded through, skipped over, etc.) the action. Asused herein, “supplemental information” refers to any content related tomedia content that supplements a current presentation of the mediacontent with information related to the portion of the media contentthat was subject to an action. Supplemental information may includecontent featuring audio, video, and/or textual data associated with oneor more portions of the media content. For example, the supplementalinformation may describe the content or context of the portion of themedia content that was subject to a fast-access playback operation. Insome embodiments, the supplemental information may be presented during,before, or after a fast-access playback operation is performed. Forexample, while media content is fast-forwarded, the media guidanceapplication may overlay a text summary of the portion of the mediacontent being fast-forwarded.

As used herein, a “portion” of the media content refers to the sectionof the media content between two points of playback of media content. Itshould be noted that, in some embodiments, a portion of media contentmay span one or more individual media assets. For example, a portion mayinclude a frame, a scene, a chapter, an episode, a season, or any otherdivision of media content. As used herein, a “point of playback” refersto a finite instance in the playback of media content. Media content mayinclude one or more points of playback during its play length. Forexample, if the media content is a video, a point of playback may referto a particular frame of the video.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may track a viewingprogress of a user through a series of media content, in which theseries of media content has an availability window. As used herein, a“viewing progress” refers to a current point of playback of the userand/or any portion of the media content into which that point ofplayback may fall. For example, the viewing progress of the user mayinclude a particular frame or minute mark of media content or may referto a particular portion (e.g., a scene, episode, etc.). To determine theviewing progress of the user, the media guidance application may employone or more user profiling techniques.

For example, the media guidance application may continually monitor thepoint of playback of a user through media content. As used herein, a“series of media content” refers to media content that is related to apredetermined sequence. For example, a series of media content mayinclude one or more media assets (e.g., episodes) a serial program. Inanother example, a series of media content may refer to one or moreseasons of a serial program. In yet another example, a series of mediacontent may refer to one or more series of programs (e.g., a program andrelated spin-off programs) that include common characters, plotlines, orcircumstances that evolve in a serial nature.

The media guidance application may use one or more techniques formonitoring the viewing progress of a user. For example, the mediaguidance application may use active monitoring (e.g., polling and/orquerying the user as to whether or not the user has viewed a portion ofmedia content) or passive monitoring (e.g., determining a user hasviewed a portion of media content without polling and/or querying theuser). For example, the media guidance application may track the currentpoint of playback and store the last known point of playback of themedia content.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may also update theviewing progress of a user to reflect received user inputs. For example,if the last known point of playback stored by the media guidanceapplication occurs during the third episode in a series, and the userselects to view the fifth episode of the series, the media guidanceapplication may update the viewing progress of the user such that theviewing progress now reflects that the current point of playback is inthe fifth episode of the series.

Accordingly, it should be noted that the viewing progress of the usermay reflect that the user has fast-forwarded through, skipped over, orotherwise subjected the media content to one or more fast-accessplayback operations. Furthermore, it should also be noted that“completing” or “finishing” media content does not necessarily requirethat the user viewed or played back all portions of the media content.For example, completing or finishing media content refers to thesubjective opinion of the user and whether or not the user is satisfiedthat the portion or portions of the media content viewed or played backconstitutes the entire media content. For example, a user may havecompleted consuming media content when the user no longer wishes to viewany more portions of the media content whether or not all portions ofthe media content have actually been viewed (or been determined to havebeen viewed by the media guidance application). For example, a user maycomplete media content if the user has viewed the most recently releasedportion (e.g., episode) of a series of media content even if there areprevious portions that the user has not viewed. In another example, theuser may complete a media asset (e.g., an episode of serial programming)even if the user has not viewed the media asset in its entirety (e.g.,the user did not view the end credits associated with the media asset).

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may furtherdetermine whether or not a user has completed a portion of media contentbased on the percentage of the portion consumed or the content of theportion that was consumed. For example, the media guidance applicationmay determine whether or not the user has viewed a threshold amount(e.g., eighty percent, ninety percent, etc.) of the portion for themedia guidance application to consider the portion to have been viewed.Alternatively or additionally, the media guidance application maydetermine that the user has viewed the substantive part of the portion(e.g., the body of the episode) and that the user does not need to viewthe non-substantive part of the portion (e.g., the end credits) for themedia guidance application to consider the portion to have been viewed.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may estimate a dateof completion of the series of media content based on the viewingprogress of the user. It should be noted that the “date” of completionmay refer to any unit of time. For example, the date may refer to aspecific month, day, hour, minute, etc.

To estimate the date of completion, the media guidance application mayuse any suitable mathematic calculation such as dividing the amount ofremaining media content to be viewed (as measured in any suitable unit(e.g., minutes of media content remaining, episodes of media contentremaining, seasons of media content remaining, etc.)) by the rate atwhich a user views the media content (e.g., average based on a userviewing history) to determine the amount of time (e.g., measured in thesame units as the amount of remaining media content) required tocomplete the media asset.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may calculate thevariables in terms of a viewing session. As used herein, a “viewingsession” refers to a period of time characterized by the user'sconsumption of one or more portions of the media content. For example, aviewing session may include typical temporal measurements (e.g., amonth, week, day, etc.) or may refer to particular instances when theuser consumes the media content.

For example, the user may “binge-watch” portions of media content. Forexample, the media guidance application may detect that the usertypically watches several episodes or seasons of media content in ashort period of time. Accordingly, to estimate the data of completion,the media guidance application may determine the average number ofportions of the media content consumed during a binge-watching viewingsession and divide the number of portions of the media content remainingto determine the number of viewing sessions that will be required tocomplete the media content. The media guidance application may thendetermine the frequency at which the user conducts the viewing sessionsto determine a date at which the media content will be completed. Basedon the current date, and rate of viewing sessions, the media guidanceapplication may estimate a completion date of the media content.

For example, the media guidance application may determine a rate atwhich the user consumes the series of media content as well as determinea length of the series of media content. The media guidance applicationmay then determine, given the rate at which the user consumes the seriesof media content and the length of the series of media content, anamount of time required to consume the entire length of the series ofmedia content, and add the amount of time required to consume the entirelength of the series of media content to a current date.

The media guidance application may determine whether the date ofcompletion corresponds to the availability window as discussed above.For example, the media guidance application may determine whether or notthe estimated date of completion falls within the time period duringwhich the media content is available. In such cases, the media guidanceapplication may determine whether or not the estimated date ofcompletion is included within the range of dates associated with theavailability window. In another example, the media guidance applicationmay determine that the availability window corresponds to the release ofa new media content related to already released media content. Forexample, the media guidance application may determine that the userwishes to consume complete already-released media content (e.g.,previous seasons of a television program) before new media content isreleased (e.g., before the start of the new season of the televisionprogram). In such cases, the media guidance application may determinewhether or not the estimated date of completion before or on a dateassociated with the release of the new media content. For example, theseries of media content may correspond to a program series with a finitenumber of released episodes, and the date of completion may correspondto a date when the viewing progress of the user includes an episode, ofthe finite number of released episodes, that was most recently released.

In response to determining that the date of completion does notcorrespond to the availability window, the media guidance applicationmay recommend an action to accelerate the viewing progress of the user.For example, the media guidance application may recommend an action(e.g., corresponding to any media guidance application operationdiscussed above) that accelerates the viewing progress of the user byadvancing a current point of playback in the series of media content toa later point of playback in the series of media content. For example,in response to determining that the user will not finish a movie giventhe current playback position of the user, the media guidanceapplication may recommend that the user fast-forward or skip over aportion of the movie such that the user may finish the movie.

In some embodiments, the availability of media content may be keyed to acurrent trip of a user (e.g., in order to entertain the user while theuser is travelling. In such cases, the media guidance application maymonitor the media content to determine whether or not the user willcomplete the media content based on the availability window, whichcorresponds to the length of the current trip. In some embodiments, themedia guidance application may determine an amount of time remaining ina current trip of a user. As used herein, a “current trip” of a userrefers to a distinctive movement of a user defined by a travelitinerary. As used herein, a “travel itinerary” refers to a descriptionof the circumstances and/or progress of a current trip of a user. Forexample, a travel itinerary may include numerous details associated withthe travel itinerary, including, but not limited to, the location ofdeparture and/or arrival (e.g., including, but not limited to, thegeographical location, entry/exit requirements, customs and/oractivities associated with the location, things-to-do, cultural elementsand/or attractions, etc.), length of travel (e.g., including, but notlimited to, time and/or distance spent travelling, time spent at one ormore locations, etc.), time of departure and/or arrival (e.g., includingany time-zone changes), anticipated stops (e.g., layovers), route (e.g.,either currently taken or expected to take), of the current trip of theuser. In addition, details associated with the travel itinerary mayinclude activities or occurrences that occur before or after a currenttrip. For example, a business meeting scheduled a day after the end of acurrent trip (e.g., as indicated by a calendar application associatedwith the user) may be related to the current trip (e.g., a user wastravelling to the business meeting).

For example, in some embodiments, the travel itinerary describes,including, but not limited to, the destination of a current trip, theroute of a current trip, and the length of time associated with thecurrent trip. For example, the media guidance application may use thetravel itinerary of the current trip of the user to determine that theuser will be traveling for four hours.

In some embodiments, a current trip may be divided into one or moresub-trips, and the media guidance application may determine lengthassociate with each sub-trip. For example, a trip may include severaldifferent sub-trips defined by different modes of transportation (e.g.,a car ride to an airport, an airplane flight to a different city, a busride to a hotel, etc.). In another example, sub-trips may be defined bydifferent destinations (e.g., an airplane flight to one city, a layoverat the city, a second airplane flight to a different city, etc.).

Throughout this disclosure, embodiments and examples are discussed withreference to various methods and modes of transportation. It should benoted that any embodiments described herein with reference to one methodor mode of transportation may also be applied to another mode oftransportation. For example, an embodiment or example describing the useof a media guidance application in relation to an airplane (or any othermethod or mode of transportation) may also be applied to a cruise-ship,bus, train, car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc., or any other method or modeof transportation, whether public or private, and whether poweredmechanically (e.g., car, train, etc.), manually (e.g., walking, bicycle,etc.), or powered by any other means (e.g., horse, sailboat, etc.). Inaddition, the media guidance application monitors for changes in eitherthe determined travel itinerary (e.g., an adjustment of the expectedarrival time) or the determined objective.

In order to detect changes and/or updates in either the determinedtravel itinerary or the determined objective, the media guidanceapplication may incorporate or have access to a detection module whichmay include various components (e.g., a video detection component, anaudio detection component, bio-metric component, etc.). Upon detectingeither a change in the travel itinerary or a change in the determinedobjective, the media guidance application may rectify the playlist basedon the change.

The media guidance application may also determine an amount of timeremaining in a media asset and/or media content being consumed by theuser during the current trip. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine an amount of time between a current point ofplayback (e.g., the forty-minute mark) in the media asset and an endpoint (e.g., the sixty-minute mark in an hour-long media asset) of themedia asset.

The media guidance application may compare the amount of time remainingin the current trip to the amount of time remaining in the media asset.For example, the media guidance application may compare the amount oftime remaining in the current trip to the amount of time remaining inthe media asset to determine whether or not the user will finish themedia asset prior to the end of the current trip.

In response to detecting a discrepancy between the amount of timeremaining in the current trip and the amount of time remaining in themedia asset, the media guidance application may recommend a fast-accessplayback operation to perform on the media asset to rectify thediscrepancy. As used herein, a “discrepancy” refers to a situation inwhich the amount of time remaining in the current trip is not enoughtime to consume the media asset and/or media content.

In some embodiments, the time remaining in the current trip may notnecessarily refer to the arrival of a user at his or her destination,and instead refer to a period at which the user will no longer be ableto consume the media asset and/or media content. For example, during anairplane flight, the user may need to turn off a user device upon whichthe user is viewing a media asset prior to actually landing. The mediaguidance application may incorporate such limitations when determiningthe amount of time remaining in the current trip. Likewise, the mediaguidance application may determine that a user may lose connectivity(e.g., when connectivity is necessary to view a media asset) at aparticular portion of the current trip (e.g., when entering anunderground tunnel). Accordingly, the media guidance application mayincorporate such limitations when determining the amount of timeremaining in the current trip and/or break the trip into a number ofsub-trips.

It should also be noted that any embodiment discussed herein referringto the completion of a media asset or media content may also be appliedto the completion of a portion of the media asset and/or media content.For example, the media guidance application may break media content intovarious portions and assign the various portions to individual sub-tripsof the current trip. The media guidance application may then determinewhether or not a particular portion assigned to a sub-trip will becompleted by the end of the sub-trip. If not, the media guidanceapplication may recommend actions described herein.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generateon-screen icons, menus, overlays, or options featuring recommendedactions to be performed. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication uses non-visual indications such as audio announcements. Forexample, the media guidance application may generate for display anoverlay featuring various options for fast-forwarding, skipping aportion of the media asset, etc. Additionally, the media guidanceapplication may generate for display summary information, as discussedabove, associated with a portion of the media asset subject to thefast-access playback operation.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may also monitor theprogress of the current trip of the user (e.g., as discussed below inrelation to FIG. 3). For example, the media guidance application mayreceive updates to the travel itinerary. In response to determining achange in the determined travel itinerary, the media guidanceapplication may recalculate the amount of time remaining in the currenttrip. After recalculating the amount of time remaining in the currenttrip, the media guidance application may recommend, if any, differentfast-access playback operations.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are accessing media on user equipment deviceson which they traditionally did not. As referred to herein, the phrase“user equipment device,” “user equipment,” “user device,” “electronicdevice,” “electronic equipment,” “media equipment device,” or “mediadevice” should be understood to mean any device for accessing thecontent described above, such as a television, a Smart TV, a set-topbox, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellitetelevision, a digital storage device, a digital media receiver (DMR), adigital media adapter (DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, aDVD recorder, a connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY player, aBLU-RAY recorder, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PCmedia server, a PC media center, a hand-held computer, a stationarytelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, aportable video player, a portable music player, a portable gamingmachine, a smart phone, or any other television equipment, computingequipment, or wireless device, and/or combination of the same. In someembodiments, the user equipment device may have a front facing screenand a rear facing screen, multiple front screens, or multiple angledscreens. In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a frontfacing camera and/or a rear facing camera. On these user equipmentdevices, users may be able to navigate among and locate the same contentavailable through a television. Consequently, media guidance may beavailable on these devices, as well. The guidance provided may be forcontent available only through a television, for content available onlythrough one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or forcontent available both through a television and one or more of the othertypes of user equipment devices. The media guidance applications may beprovided as on-line applications (i.e., provided on a website), or asstand-alone applications or clients on user equipment devices. Variousdevices and platforms that may implement media guidance applications aredescribed in more detail below.

FIGS. 1-2 show illustrative display screens that may be used to providemedia guidance data. The display screens shown in FIGS. 1-2 may beimplemented on any suitable user equipment device or platform. While thedisplays of FIGS. 1-2 are illustrated as full screen displays, they mayalso be fully or partially overlaid over content being displayed. A usermay indicate a desire to access content information by selecting aselectable option provided in a display screen (e.g., a menu option, alistings option, an icon, a hyperlink, etc.) or pressing a dedicatedbutton (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remote control or other user inputinterface or device. In response to the user's indication, the mediaguidance application may provide a display screen with media guidancedata organized in one of several ways, such as by time and channel in agrid, by time, by channel, by source, by content type, by category(e.g., movies, sports, news, children, or other categories ofprogramming), or other predefined, user-defined, or other organizationcriteria.

FIG. 1 shows illustrative grid program listings display 100 arranged bytime and channel that also enables access to different types of contentin a single display. Display 100 may include grid 102 with: (1) a columnof channel/content type identifiers 104, where each channel/content typeidentifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a differentchannel or content type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers106, where each time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifiesa time block of programming. Grid 102 also includes cells of programlistings, such as program listing 108, where each listing provides thetitle of the program provided on the listing's associated channel andtime. With a user input device, a user can select program listings bymoving highlight region 110. Information relating to the program listingselected by highlight region 110 may be provided in program informationregion 112. Region 112 may include, for example, the program title, theprogram description, the time the program is provided (if applicable),the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, andother desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g., contentthat is scheduled to be transmitted to a plurality of user equipmentdevices at a predetermined time and is provided according to aschedule), the media guidance application also provides access tonon-linear programming (e.g., content accessible to a user equipmentdevice at any time and is not provided according to a schedule).Non-linear programming may include content from different contentsources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g.,streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored content(e.g., content stored on any user equipment device described above orother storage device), or other time-independent content. On-demandcontent may include movies or any other content provided by a particularcontent provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “CurbYour Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time WarnerCompany L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM aretrademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content mayinclude web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or contentavailable on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content throughan Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).

Grid 102 may provide media guidance data for non-linear programmingincluding on-demand listing 114, recorded content listing 116, andInternet content listing 118. A display combining media guidance datafor content from different types of content sources is sometimesreferred to as a “mixed-media” display. Various permutations of thetypes of media guidance data that may be displayed that are differentthan display 100 may be based on user selection or guidance applicationdefinition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings,only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings114, 116, and 118 are shown as spanning the entire time block displayedin grid 102 to indicate that selection of these listings may provideaccess to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings,or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings forthese content types may be included directly in grid 102. Additionalmedia guidance data may be displayed in response to the user selectingone of the navigational icons 120. (Pressing an arrow key on a userinput device may affect the display in a similar manner as selectingnavigational icons 120.)

Display 100 may also include video region 122, advertisement 124, andoptions region 126. Video region 122 may allow the user to view and/orpreview programs that are currently available, will be available, orwere available to the user. The content of video region 122 maycorrespond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed ingrid 102. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referredto as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and theirfunctionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfield et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat.No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included inother media guidance application display screens of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

Advertisement 124 may provide an advertisement for content that,depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscriptionprogramming), is currently available for viewing, will be available forviewing in the future, or may never become available for viewing, andmay correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of the content listingsin grid 102. Advertisement 124 may also be for products or servicesrelated or unrelated to the content displayed in grid 102. Advertisement124 may be selectable and provide further information about content,provide information about a product or a service, enable purchasing ofcontent, a product, or a service, provide content relating to theadvertisement, etc. Advertisement 124 may be targeted based on a user'sprofile/preferences, monitored user activity, the type of displayprovided, or on other suitable targeted advertisement bases.

While advertisement 124 is shown as rectangular or banner shaped,advertisements may be provided in any suitable size, shape, and locationin a guidance application display. For example, advertisement 124 may beprovided as a rectangular shape that is horizontally adjacent to grid102. This is sometimes referred to as a panel advertisement. Inaddition, advertisements may be overlaid over content or a guidanceapplication display or embedded within a display. Advertisements mayalso include text, images, rotating images, video clips, or other typesof content described above. Advertisements may be stored in a userequipment device having a guidance application, in a database connectedto the user equipment, in a remote location (including streaming mediaservers), or on other storage means, or a combination of theselocations. Providing advertisements in a media guidance application isdiscussed in greater detail in, for example, Knudson et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2003/0110499, filed Jan. 17, 2003; Ward, IIIet al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,997, issued Jun. 29, 2004; and Schein et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,714, issued May 14, 2002, which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties. It will beappreciated that advertisements may be included in other media guidanceapplication display screens of the embodiments described herein.

Options region 126 may allow the user to access different types ofcontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 126 may be part of display 100 (andother display screens described herein), or may be invoked by a user byselecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated or assignablebutton on a user input device. The selectable options within optionsregion 126 may concern features related to program listings in grid 102or may include options available from a main menu display. Featuresrelated to program listings may include searching for other air times orways of receiving a program, recording a program, enabling seriesrecording of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite,purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a mainmenu display may include search options, VOD options, parental controloptions, Internet options, cloud-based options, device synchronizationoptions, second screen device options, options to access various typesof media guidance data displays, options to subscribe to a premiumservice, options to edit a user's profile, options to access a browseoverlay, or other options.

The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user'spreferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user tocustomize displays and features to create a personalized “experience”with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may becreated by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by themedia guidance application monitoring user activity to determine varioususer preferences. Users may access their personalized guidanceapplication by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to theguidance application. Customization of the media guidance applicationmay be made in accordance with a user profile. The customizations mayinclude varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays,font size of text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g.,only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channelsbased on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display ofchannels, recommended content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g.,recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality,etc.), parental control settings, customized presentation of Internetcontent (e.g., presentation of social media content, e-mail,electronically delivered articles, etc.) and other desiredcustomizations.

The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profileinformation or may automatically compile user profile information. Themedia guidance application may, for example, monitor the content theuser accesses and/or other interactions the user may have with theguidance application. Additionally, the media guidance application mayobtain all or part of other user profiles that are related to aparticular user (e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the useraccesses, such as www.allrovi.com, from other media guidanceapplications the user accesses, from other interactive applications theuser accesses, from another user equipment device of the user, etc.),and/or obtain information about the user from other sources that themedia guidance application may access. As a result, a user can beprovided with a unified guidance application experience across theuser's different user equipment devices. This type of user experience isdescribed in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 4. Additionalpersonalized media guidance application features are described ingreater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. Pat. No.7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2002/0174430, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 2. Display 200 includes media asset 202. For example, in responseto determining that media asset 202 will not be completed during theavailability window associated with media asset 202, the media guidanceapplications has generated alert 204 and options 208, 210, and 212.

For example, the media content may only be available for another thirtyminutes, and the media guidance application determines, given thecurrent viewing progress of the user, that the user is unlikely tofinish the media content within the thirty minutes. For example, themedia guidance application may determine that media asset 202 has fortyminutes remaining in its play length. In another example, a mobiledevice upon which display 200 may require Internet connectivity topresent media asset 202, and the media guidance application maydetermine that connectivity issues may arise at a predetermined shortly.For example, the media guidance application may determine (e.g., basedon the travel itinerary) that a user will be travelling outside therange of its Internet provider carrier shortly.

The media guidance application may also determine that the mobile deviceupon which media asset 202 is being presented has only ten minutes ofpower remaining, and thus will not be able to finish presenting mediaasset 202. Likewise, a calendar function incorporated into, oraccessible by, the media guidance application may determine that a userwill need to stop viewing media asset 202 in twenty minutes due to apreviously scheduled appointment.

Accordingly, the media guidance application has notified the user viaalert 204 and has recommended actions (e.g., options 208, 210, and 212)to allow the user to complete the media content. For example, the mediaguidance application has provided recommendations for fast-forwardingthe content (e.g., option 208), skipping a portion of the content (e.g.,option 210). Additionally, the media guidance application has providedsupplemental information (e.g., option 212) regarding a portion of themedia content that may be subject to a fast-access playback operation.

Users may access content and the media guidance application (and itsdisplay screens described above and below) from one or more of theiruser equipment devices. FIG. 3 shows a generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment device 300. More specific implementations ofuser equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG. 4.User equipment device 300 may receive content and data via input/output(hereinafter “I/O”) path 302. I/O path 302 may provide content (e.g.,broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, contentavailable over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN),and/or other content) and data to control circuitry 304, which includesprocessing circuitry 306 and storage 308. Control circuitry 304 may beused to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable datausing I/O path 302. I/O path 302 may connect control circuitry 304 (andspecifically processing circuitry 306) to one or more communicationspaths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more ofthese communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 3 toavoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable processing circuitrysuch as processing circuitry 306. As referred to herein, processingcircuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors,programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may includea multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or anysuitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments,processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separateprocessors or processing units, for example, multiple of the same typeof processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multipledifferent processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Corei7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 executesinstructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e.,storage 308). Specifically, control circuitry 304 may be instructed bythe media guidance application to perform the functions discussed aboveand below. For example, the media guidance application may provideinstructions to control circuitry 304 to generate the media guidancedisplays. In some implementations, any action performed by controlcircuitry 304 may be based on instructions received from the mediaguidance application.

In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 304 may includecommunications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidanceapplication server or other networks or servers. The instructions forcarrying out the above mentioned functionality may be stored on theguidance application server. Communications circuitry may include acable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, adigital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, Ethernet card,or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment, or anyother suitable communications circuitry. Such communications may involvethe Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths(which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 4). Inaddition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that enablespeer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or communicationof user equipment devices in locations remote from each other (describedin more detail below).

Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage 308 thatis part of control circuitry 304. As referred to herein, the phrase“electronic storage device” or “storage device” should be understood tomean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, orfirmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives,optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD)recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders,digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personal videorecorder, or PVR), solid state devices, quantum storage devices, gamingconsoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storagedevices, and/or any combination of the same. Storage 308 may be used tostore various types of content described herein as well as mediaguidance data described above. Nonvolatile memory may also be used(e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Cloud-basedstorage, described in relation to FIG. 4, may be used to supplementstorage 308 or instead of storage 308.

Control circuitry 304 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided.Control circuitry 304 may also include scaler circuitry for upconvertingand downconverting content into the preferred output format of the userequipment 300. Circuitry 304 may also include digital-to-analogconverter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry forconverting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may be used by the user equipment device to receive and todisplay, to play, or to record content. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitrydescribed herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating,encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, scaler, and analog/digitalcircuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or moregeneral purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may beprovided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and recordfunctions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording,etc.). If storage 308 is provided as a separate device from userequipment 300, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multipletuners) may be associated with storage 308.

A user may send instructions to control circuitry 304 using user inputinterface 310. User input interface 310 may be any suitable userinterface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard,touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognitioninterface, or other user input interfaces. Display 312 may be providedas a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300. For example, display 312 may be a touchscreen ortouch-sensitive display. In such circumstances, user input interface 312may be integrated with or combined with display 312. Display 312 may beone or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD)for a mobile device, amorphous silicon display, low temperaturepolysilicon display, electronic ink display, electrophoretic display,active matrix display, electro-wetting display, electrofluidic display,cathode ray tube display, light-emitting diode display,electroluminescent display, plasma display panel, high-performanceaddressing display, thin-film transistor display, organic light-emittingdiode display, surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED), lasertelevision, carbon nanotubes, quantum dot display, interferometricmodulator display, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visualimages. In some embodiments, display 312 may be HDTV-capable. In someembodiments, display 312 may be a 3D display, and the interactive mediaguidance application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. Avideo card or graphics card may generate the output to the display 312.The video card may offer various functions such as accelerated renderingof 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or theability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be anyprocessing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry304. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 304.Speakers 314 may be provided as integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300 or may be stand-alone units. The audio component ofvideos and other content displayed on display 312 may be played throughspeakers 314. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to areceiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers314.

User equipment device 300 may also incorporate or be accessible todetection module 316. Detection module 316 may further include variouscomponents (e.g., a video detection component, an audio detectioncomponent, etc.) for determining and/or detecting changes to informationabout the travel itinerary. In some embodiments, detection module 316may include components that are specialized to generate particularinformation. For example, detection module 316 may include componentsfor use in detecting and/or retrieving information about a user and/orthe actions and/or activities of the user.

In some embodiments, detection module 316 may include an audio/videodetection component, which determines or receives information describingobjects in images and/or noise emanating from a user or other sources(e.g., a public address announcement related to a user's travelitinerary in an airport or airplane). Additionally or alternatively, theaudio detection component may monitor for images and/or soundsoriginating from other sources that may be related to a user's currenttrip or travel itinerary. In some embodiments, the audio/video detectioncomponent includes one or more sensors that transmit data to processingcircuitry 306, which determines a change and/or update to a user'stravel itinerary.

For example, detection module 316 may include one or morecontent-recognition modules, which may be used by the media guidanceapplication to analyze information received from a content capturedevice (e.g., video and/or audio recorder). For example, the mediaguidance application may include an object recognition module. Theobject recognition module may use edge detection, pattern recognition,including, but not limited to, self-learning systems (e.g., neuralnetworks), optical character recognition, on-line character recognition(including, but not limited to, dynamic character recognition, real-timecharacter recognition, intelligent character recognition), and/or anyother suitable technique or method to determine the objects in and/orcharacteristics of video and audio recordings. For example, the mediaguidance application may receive a media asset in the form of a video(e.g., an audio/video recording of travel announcements and in-flightinstructions). The video may include a series of frames. For each frameof the video, the media guidance application may use an objectrecognition module to determine the characteristics associated with eachframe (or the media assets as a whole) of the video to determineinformation related to the travel itinerary, a change to the travelitinerary, etc.

In some embodiments, the content-recognition module or algorithm mayalso include audio analysis and speech recognition techniques,including, but not limited to, Hidden Markov Models, dynamic timewarping, and/or neural networks (as described above) to process audiodata and/or translate spoken words into text. The content-recognitionmodule may also use any other suitable techniques for processing audioand/or visual data. For example, the content-recognition module mayanalyze audio data to determine whether or not a user is talking.Furthermore, the content-recognition module may analyze video and/oraudio data to determine changes to a user's travel itinerary, a changeto the travel itinerary, etc.

In addition, the media guidance application may use multiple types ofoptical character recognition and/or fuzzy logic, for example, whencomparing multiple data fields (e.g., as contained in databasesdescribed below). For example, after the content-recognition module oralgorithm translates video and/or audio recordings into text, the mediaguidance application (e.g., via control circuitry 304) maycross-reference the translated text with a database (e.g., located atstorage 308 or media guidance data source 418 (FIG. 4)) to determinewhether or not the translated text corresponds to data associated with auser's travel itinerary, a change to the travel itinerary, etc.

For example, the media guidance application may arrange the text intodata fields and cross-reference the data fields with other data fields(e.g., in a lookup table database) corresponding to possible valuesassociated with a user's travel itinerary, a user status change, and/orobjective. Using fuzzy logic, the system may determine two fields and/orvalues to be identical even though the substance of the data field orvalue (e.g., two different spellings) is not identical. In someembodiments, the system may analyze particular data fields of a datastructure or media asset frame for particular values or text. The datafields could be associated with characteristics, other data, and/or anyother information required for the function of the embodiments describedherein. Furthermore, the data fields could contain values (e.g., thedata fields could be expressed in binary or any other suitable code orprogramming language).

In some embodiments, detection module 316 may include a GlobalPositioning System (“GPS”) detection component, which determines orreceives information describing the geographic position of a user. Forexample, the GPS detection component may, additionally or alternatively,determine whether or not the user is taking a particular route (e.g.,whether or not the current position of a user corresponds to a positionin the route), is on schedule (e.g., whether or not the current positionof a user corresponds to the position the user is scheduled to be at inthe route based on the current time), or the current travelling speed ofthe user. In some embodiments, the GPS detection component includes oneor more sensors that transmit data to processing circuitry 306, whichdetermines a change and/or update to a user's travel itinerary, a changeto the travel itinerary, etc.

In some embodiments, detection module 316 may include an Internet accesscomponent, which determines or receives information describing thecurrent trip retrieved over the Internet. For example, the Internetaccess component may, additionally or alternatively, determine whetheror not information on the Internet (e.g., a website of an airline)indicates a change or update to the determined travel itinerary or thedetermined objective of the user. Additionally or alternatively,detection module 316 may include a vehicle access component, whichdetermines or receives information (e.g., from the odometer of a car)describing the current trip retrieved from the vehicle. For example, themedia guidance application may be configured to receive information fromthe flight control system of an airplane. In some embodiments, theInternet access component and vehicle access component may transmit datato processing circuitry 306, which determines a change and/or update toa user's travel itinerary, a user status, and/or objective.

For example, detection module 316 may access and/or receive commandsfrom systems and/or data associated with the method or mode oftransportation. For example, detection module 316 may receive specificinputs from the media control system associated with the method or modeof transportation (e.g., an airline IFE system). Furthermore, the mediaguidance application may incorporate information and/or commands. Forexample, during a flight, detection module 316 may incorporatepilot/flight attendant announcements, flight/navigation equipmentsignals, and/or data collected on previous flights to determine a travelitinerary, a change to the travel itinerary, etc.

The guidance application may be implemented using any suitablearchitecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone application whollyimplemented on user equipment device 300. In such an approach,instructions of the application are stored locally (e.g., in storage308), and data for use by the application is downloaded on a periodicbasis (e.g., from an out-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, orusing another suitable approach). Control circuitry 304 may retrieveinstructions of the application from storage 308 and process theinstructions to generate any of the displays discussed herein. Based onthe processed instructions, control circuitry 304 may determine whataction to perform when input is received from input interface 310. Forexample, movement of a cursor on a display up/down may be indicated bythe processed instructions when input interface 310 indicates that anup/down button was selected.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is a client-serverbased application. Data for use by a thick or thin client implemented onuser equipment device 300 is retrieved on-demand by issuing requests toa server remote to the user equipment device 300. In one example of aclient-server based guidance application, control circuitry 304 runs aweb browser that interprets web pages provided by a remote server. Forexample, the remote server may store the instructions for theapplication in a storage device. The remote server may process thestored instructions using circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 304) andgenerate the displays discussed above and below. The client device mayreceive the displays generated by the remote server and may display thecontent of the displays locally on equipment device 300. This way, theprocessing of the instructions is performed remotely by the server whilethe resulting displays are provided locally on equipment device 300.Equipment device 300 may receive inputs from the user via inputinterface 310 and transmit those inputs to the remote server forprocessing and generating the corresponding displays. For example,equipment device 300 may transmit a communication to the remote serverindicating that an up/down button was selected via input interface 310.The remote server may process instructions in accordance with that inputand generate a display of the application corresponding to the input(e.g., a display that moves a cursor up/down). The generated display isthen transmitted to equipment device 300 for presentation to the user.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is downloaded andinterpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine (runby control circuitry 304). In some embodiments, the guidance applicationmay be encoded in the ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received bycontrol circuitry 304 as part of a suitable feed, and interpreted by auser agent running on control circuitry 304. For example, the guidanceapplication may be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, theguidance application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files thatare received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitablemiddleware executed by control circuitry 304. In some of suchembodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital mediaencoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example, encodedand transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG audio andvideo packets of a program.

User equipment device 300 of FIG. 3 can be implemented in system 400 ofFIG. 4 as user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404,wireless user communications device 406, or any other type of userequipment suitable for accessing content, such as a non-portable gamingmachine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to hereincollectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and may besubstantially similar to user equipment devices described above. Userequipment devices, on which a media guidance application may beimplemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of anetwork of devices. Various network configurations of devices may beimplemented and are discussed in more detail below.

A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system featuresdescribed above in connection with FIG. 3 may not be classified solelyas user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, or awireless user communications device 406. For example, user televisionequipment 402 may, like some user computer equipment 404, beInternet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while usercomputer equipment 404 may, like some television equipment 402, includea tuner allowing for access to television programming. The mediaguidance application may have the same layout on various different typesof user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of theuser equipment. For example, on user computer equipment 404, theguidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a webbrowser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled downfor wireless user communications devices 406.

In system 400, there is typically more than one of each type of userequipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize morethan one type of user equipment device and also more than one of eachtype of user equipment device.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., user televisionequipment 402, user computer equipment 404, wireless user communicationsdevice 406) may be referred to as a “second screen device.” For example,a second screen device may supplement content presented on a first userequipment device. The content presented on the second screen device maybe any suitable content that supplements the content presented on thefirst device. In some embodiments, the second screen device provides aninterface for adjusting settings and display preferences of the firstdevice. In some embodiments, the second screen device is configured forinteracting with other second screen devices or for interacting with asocial network. The second screen device can be located in the same roomas the first device, a different room from the first device but in thesame house or building, or in a different building from the firstdevice.

The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent mediaguidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices.Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and programfavorites, programming preferences that the guidance applicationutilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences, andother desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channelas a favorite on, for example, the web site www.allrovi.com on theirpersonal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as afavorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipmentand user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, ifdesired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device can changethe guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless ofwhether they are the same or a different type of user equipment device.In addition, the changes made may be based on settings input by a user,as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 414.Namely, user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, andwireless user communications device 406 are coupled to communicationsnetwork 414 via communications paths 408, 410, and 412, respectively.Communications network 414 may be one or more networks including theInternet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a4G or LTE network), cable network, public switched telephone network, orother types of communications network or combinations of communicationsnetworks. Paths 408, 410, and 412 may separately or together include oneor more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-opticpath, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.g.,IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wirelesssignals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path orcombination of such paths. Path 412 is drawn with dotted lines toindicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 it is awireless path and paths 408 and 410 are drawn as solid lines to indicatethey are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, ifdesired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be providedby one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a singlepath in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipmentdevices, these devices may communicate directly with each other viacommunication paths, such as those described above in connection withpaths 408, 410, and 412, as well as other short-range point-to-pointcommunication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wirelesspaths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or othershort-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is acertification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipmentdevices may also communicate with each other directly through anindirect path via communications network 414.

System 400 includes content source 416 and media guidance data source418 coupled to communications network 414 via communication paths 420and 422, respectively. Paths 420 and 422 may include any of thecommunication paths described above in connection with paths 408, 410,and 412. Communications with the content source 416 and media guidancedata source 418 may be exchanged over one or more communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418, but only one of each isshown in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The differenttypes of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418 may be integrated as onesource device. Although communications between sources 416 and 418 withuser equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 are shown as throughcommunications network 414, in some embodiments, sources 416 and 418 maycommunicate directly with user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 viacommunication paths (not shown) such as those described above inconnection with paths 408, 410, and 412.

Content source 416 may include one or more types of content distributionequipment including a television distribution facility, cable systemheadend, satellite distribution facility, programming sources (e.g.,television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediatedistribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers, on-demandmedia servers, and other content providers. NBC is a trademark owned bythe National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by theAmerican Broadcasting Company, Inc., and HBO is a trademark owned by theHome Box Office, Inc. Content source 416 may be the originator ofcontent (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.) ormay not be the originator of content (e.g., an on-demand contentprovider, an Internet provider of content of broadcast programs fordownloading, etc.). Content source 416 may include cable sources,satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers,over-the-top content providers, or other providers of content. Contentsource 416 may also include a remote media server used to storedifferent types of content (including video content selected by a user),in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems andmethods for remote storage of content, and providing remotely storedcontent to user equipment are discussed in greater detail in connectionwith Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,892, issued Jul. 20, 2010, whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Media guidance data source 418 may provide media guidance data, such asthe media guidance data described above. Media guidance data may beprovided to the user equipment devices using any suitable approach. Insome embodiments, the guidance application may be a stand-aloneinteractive television program guide that receives program guide datavia a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed or trickle feed). Programschedule data and other guidance data may be provided to the userequipment on a television channel sideband, using an in-band digitalsignal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitabledata transmission technique. Program schedule data and other mediaguidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog ordigital television channels.

In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data source 418may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. Forexample, a user equipment device may pull media guidance data from aserver, or a server may push media guidance data to a user equipmentdevice. In some embodiments, a guidance application client residing onthe user's equipment may initiate sessions with source 418 to obtainguidance data when needed, e.g., when the guidance data is out of dateor when the user equipment device receives a request from the user toreceive data. Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment withany suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specifiedperiod of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to arequest from user equipment, etc.). Media guidance data source 418 mayprovide user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 the media guidanceapplication itself or software updates for the media guidanceapplication.

In some embodiments, the media guidance data may include viewer data.For example, the viewer data may include current and/or historical useractivity information (e.g., what content the user typically watches,what times of day the user watches content, whether the user interactswith a social network, at what times the user interacts with a socialnetwork to post information, what types of content the user typicallywatches (e.g., pay TV or free TV), mood, brain activity information,etc.). The media guidance data may also include subscription data. Forexample, the subscription data may identify to which sources or servicesa given user subscribes and/or to which sources or services the givenuser has previously subscribed but later terminated access (e.g.,whether the user subscribes to premium channels, whether the user hasadded a premium level of services, whether the user has increasedInternet speed). In some embodiments, the viewer data and/or thesubscription data may identify patterns of a given user for a period ofmore than one year. The media guidance data may include a model (e.g., asurvivor model) used for generating a score that indicates a likelihoodthat a given user will terminate access to a service/source. Forexample, the media guidance application may process the viewer data withthe subscription data using the model to generate a value or score thatindicates a likelihood of whether the given user will terminate accessto a particular service or source. In particular, a higher score mayindicate a higher level of confidence that the user will terminateaccess to a particular service or source. Based on the score, the mediaguidance application may generate promotions and advertisements thatentice the user to keep the particular service or source indicated bythe score as one to which the user will likely terminate access.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on user equipment devices. For example, themedia guidance application may be implemented as software or a set ofexecutable instructions which may be stored in storage 308, and executedby control circuitry 304 of a user equipment device 300. In someembodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only a client application resides on the userequipment device, and server application resides on a remote server. Forexample, media guidance applications may be implemented partially as aclient application on control circuitry 304 of user equipment device 300and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g., mediaguidance data source 418) running on control circuitry of the remoteserver. When executed by control circuitry of the remote server (such asmedia guidance data source 418), the media guidance application mayinstruct the control circuitry to generate the guidance applicationdisplays and transmit the generated displays to the user equipmentdevices. The server application may instruct the control circuitry ofthe media guidance data source 418 to transmit data for storage on theuser equipment. The client application may instruct control circuitry ofthe receiving user equipment to generate the guidance applicationdisplays.

Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user equipment devices402, 404, and 406 may be over-the-top (OTT) content. OTT contentdelivery allows Internet-enabled user devices, including any userequipment device described above, to receive content that is transferredover the Internet, including any content described above, in addition tocontent received over cable or satellite connections. OTT content isdelivered via an Internet connection provided by an Internet serviceprovider (ISP), but a third party distributes the content. The ISP maynot be responsible for the viewing abilities, copyrights, orredistribution of the content, and may only transfer IP packets providedby the OTT content provider. Examples of OTT content providers includeYOUTUBE, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IPpackets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is atrademark owned by Netflix Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by Hulu,LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively providemedia guidance data described above. In addition to content and/or mediaguidance data, providers of OTT content can distribute media guidanceapplications (e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications),or the content can be displayed by media guidance applications stored onthe user equipment device.

Media guidance system 400 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devicesand sources of content and guidance data may communicate with each otherfor the purpose of accessing content and providing media guidance. Theembodiments described herein may be applied in any one or a subset ofthese approaches, or in a system employing other approaches fordelivering content and providing media guidance. The following fourapproaches provide specific illustrations of the generalized example ofFIG. 4.

In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each otherwithin a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with eachother directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemesdescribed above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similardevice provided on a home network, or via communications network 414.Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate differentuser equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may bedesirable for various media guidance information or settings to becommunicated between the different user equipment devices. For example,it may be desirable for users to maintain consistent media guidanceapplication settings on different user equipment devices within a homenetwork, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different types ofuser equipment devices in a home network may also communicate with eachother to transmit content. For example, a user may transmit content fromuser computer equipment to a portable video player or portable musicplayer.

In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment bywhich they access content and obtain media guidance. For example, someusers may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobiledevices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidanceapplication implemented on a remote device. For example, users mayaccess an online media guidance application on a website via a personalcomputer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA orweb-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g.,recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guidemay control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with amedia guidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Varioussystems and methods for user equipment devices communicating, where theuser equipment devices are in locations remote from each other, isdiscussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issuedOct. 25, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outsidea home can use their media guidance application to communicate directlywith content source 416 to access content. Specifically, within a home,users of user television equipment 402 and user computer equipment 404may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locatedesirable content. Users may also access the media guidance applicationoutside of the home using wireless user communications devices 406 tonavigate among and locate desirable content.

In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate in a cloudcomputing environment to access cloud services. In a cloud computingenvironment, various types of computing services for content sharing,storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites or social networkingsites) are provided by a collection of network-accessible computing andstorage resources, referred to as “the cloud.” For example, the cloudcan include a collection of server computing devices, which may belocated centrally or at distributed locations, that provide cloud-basedservices to various types of users and devices connected via a networksuch as the Internet via communications network 414. These cloudresources may include one or more content sources 416 and one or moremedia guidance data sources 418. In addition or in the alternative, theremote computing sites may include other user equipment devices, such asuser television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, and wirelessuser communications device 406. For example, the other user equipmentdevices may provide access to a stored copy of a video or a streamedvideo. In such embodiments, user equipment devices may operate in apeer-to-peer manner without communicating with a central server.

The cloud provides access to services, such as content storage, contentsharing, or social networking services, among other examples, as well asaccess to any content described above, for user equipment devices.Services can be provided in the cloud through cloud computing serviceproviders, or through other providers of online services. For example,the cloud-based services can include a content storage service, acontent sharing site, a social networking site, or other services viawhich user-sourced content is distributed for viewing by others onconnected devices. These cloud-based services may allow a user equipmentdevice to store content to the cloud and to receive content from thecloud rather than storing content locally and accessing locally-storedcontent.

A user may use various content capture devices, such as camcorders,digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders, mobile phones, andhandheld computing devices, to record content. The user can uploadcontent to a content storage service on the cloud either directly, forexample, from user computer equipment 404 or wireless usercommunications device 406 having content capture feature. Alternatively,the user can first transfer the content to a user equipment device, suchas user computer equipment 404. The user equipment device storing thecontent uploads the content to the cloud using a data transmissionservice on communications network 414. In some embodiments, the userequipment device itself is a cloud resource, and other user equipmentdevices can access the content directly from the user equipment deviceon which the user stored the content.

Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device using, forexample, a web browser, a media guidance application, a desktopapplication, a mobile application, and/or any combination of accessapplications of the same. The user equipment device may be a cloudclient that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or theuser equipment device may have some functionality without access tocloud resources. For example, some applications running on the userequipment device may be cloud applications, i.e., applications deliveredas a service over the Internet, while other applications may be storedand run on the user equipment device. In some embodiments, a user devicemay receive content from multiple cloud resources simultaneously. Forexample, a user device can stream audio from one cloud resource whiledownloading content from a second cloud resource. Or a user device candownload content from multiple cloud resources for more efficientdownloading. In some embodiments, user equipment devices can use cloudresources for processing operations such as the processing operationsperformed by processing circuitry described in relation to FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram describing a travel itinerary associated with acurrent trip of a user. It should be noted that display 500 isillustrative only and should not be taken to be limiting in any manner.For example, in some embodiments, one or more of the features of display100 and/or display 200 may be incorporated into display 500. Display 500may appear on the display (e.g., display 312 (FIG. 3)) of a userequipment device (e.g., user equipment device 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG.4)). Furthermore, in some embodiments, display 500 may receive inputsvia user input interface 310 (FIG. 3) and/or receive data via I/O path302 (FIG. 3)).

Display 500 shows a graphical display of a travel itinerary associatedwith the current trip of the user. For example, display showsdestination location 502 and departure location 504. Display 500 alsoincludes travel route 506 and current position 510 as well as additionaldisplay information 508 (e.g., an International Date Line, times zonechanges, municipal borders, etc.).

In some embodiments, the media guidance application determinesdestination location 502, departure location 504, travel route 506,and/or current position 510 based on various sources (e.g., user inputinterface 310 and/or detection module 316 (FIG. 3)). For example, themedia guidance application may receive user inputs (e.g., via user inputinterface 310 (FIG. 3)) into a display (e.g., display 500 (FIG. 5)) todetermine one or more of destination location 502, departure location504, travel route 506, current position 510, and/or any otherinformation related to the travel itinerary (e.g., travel speed,refueling stops, layover lengths, etc.).

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine one ormore of destination location 502, departure location 504, travel route506, current position 510, and/or any other information related to thetravel itinerary without user input (e.g., via detection module 316(FIG. 3)). For example, to determine the length of time of a currenttrip, the media guidance application may receive information from theairline (e.g., via accessing a website associated with the airline orreceiving an e-mail or other information from the airline). The mediaguidance application may additionally or alternatively receive route andlength of trip information from Internet sources (e.g., retrieved viaI/O path 302 (FIG. 3)) that provide maps, directions, and/or otherfeatures for planning trips, while monitoring the current position ofthe user using retrieved GPS data (e.g., using detection module 316(FIG. 3)).

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrievedestination location 502, departure location 504, travel route 506,current position 510 and/or any other information related to the travelitinerary from a database. For example, the media guidance applicationmay determine the destination (e.g., destination location 502) of acurrent trip of a user. In addition, the media guidance application maydetermine the current position (e.g., current position 510) and speed ofthe user (e.g., via detection module 316 (FIG. 3)). The media guidanceapplication may further determine the route (e.g., travel route 506)from the current position of the user to the destination bycross-referencing a database related to route information. For example,the media guidance application may incorporate or have access to a local(e.g., located at storage 308 (FIG. 3)) or remote (e.g., located atmedia content source 416 (FIG. 4)), media guidance data source 418 (FIG.4), and/or a device/location accessible via communications network 414(FIG. 4)) database (e.g., a lookup table) in which the media guidanceapplication may input the destination and current position to determinethe shortest and/or quickest route.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, the media guidance application maycompute (e.g., via processing circuitry 306 (FIG. 3)) the destinationlocation 502, departure location 504, travel route 506, current position510 and/or any other information related to the travel itinerary basedon mathematical computations involve other characteristics of the travelitinerary. For example, having determined the distance to thedestination (e.g., destination location 502) from the current positionof a user (e.g., current position 510), the route (e.g., travel route506), and/or speed of travel from one or more of the methods describedabove, the media guidance application may apply suitable mathematicaloperations (e.g., dividing the distance by the speed to determine thelength of time remaining in the current trip) to determine any otherinformation related to the travel itinerary.

In some embodiments, display 500 may correspond to a media asset, orcontent displayed in conjunction with, a media asset displayed invehicle or on a user device (e.g., a smartphone) provided by a thirdparty (e.g., a common carrier) for use by the user in monitoring theprogress of his or her current trip. For example, in some embodiments,in response to a user selection (e.g., via user interface 310 (FIG. 3))requesting that media content be completed during the current trip ofthe user, the media guidance application may be receiving information(e.g., airplane schedule, train schedule, bus schedule, etc.) indicatingthe travel itinerary of the user. Furthermore, in some embodiments, themedia guidance application may receive user inputs (e.g., via user inputinterface 310 (FIG. 3)) of one or more criteria (e.g., destinationlocation 502, departure location 504, travel route 506, and/or currentposition 510) in order for the media guidance application to update adetermined travel itinerary of the user to determine an availabilitywindow associated with the current trip and/or the amount of timeremaining in the current trip of the user. Alternatively oradditionally, the media guidance application may continuously and/orautomatically retrieve data provided by a third party related to thetravel itinerary or changes to the travel itinerary to determine theavailability window of length of time remaining in the current trip.

For example, based on the current position of the user (e.g., asdetermined by detection module 316 (FIG. 3)), information received viauser input interface 310 (FIG. 3), mathematical computations ofprocessing circuitry 306 (FIG. 3), and/or information received from across-reference with a database located at storage 308 (FIG. 3), mediacontent source 416 (FIG. 4), media guidance data source 418 (FIG. 4),and/or a device/location accessible via communications network 414 (FIG.4)), the media guidance application may determine an availability windowassociated with the current trip and/or the amount of time remaining inthe current trip of the user based on real-time data such that changesto the travel itinerary (e.g., delays) may be accounted for.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for recommending an actionto accelerate the viewing progress of the user. It should be noted thatprocess 600 or any step thereof could be performed on, or provided by,any of the devices shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example, process 600 may beexecuted by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) as instructed by a mediaguidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipmentdevices 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4)) in order to recommend an actionto accelerate the viewing progress of the user. In addition, one or moresteps of process 600 may be incorporated into or combined with one ormore steps of any other process or embodiment (e.g., as described inrelation to FIGS. 7-9)).

At step 602, the media guidance application tracks (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a viewing progress of a user through a series ofmedia content, wherein the series of media content has an availabilitywindow. For example, using one or more user profiling techniquesdiscussed above, the media guidance application may monitor (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the point of playback of a user throughmedia content.

For example, the media guidance application may (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) actively monitor (e.g., via generating querieson display 312 (FIG. 3) requesting the user enter his or her viewingprogress) or passively monitor (e.g., determining, via control circuitry304 (FIG. 3), a user has viewed a portion of media content withoutpolling and/or querying the user) the viewing progress of the user. Forexample, the media guidance application may track the current point ofplayback and store (e.g., in storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or any locationaccessible via communications network 414 (FIG. 4)) the last known pointof playback of the media content.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may also update(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the viewing progress of auser to reflect received user inputs that may or may not indicateupdates to the viewing progress of the user. For example, if the lastknown point of playback stored (e.g., in storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or anylocation accessible via communications network 414 (FIG. 4)) by themedia guidance application occurs during the third episode in a series,and the user selects (e.g., via user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) toview the fifth episode of the series, the media guidance application mayupdate (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the viewing progress(e.g., stored in storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or any location accessible viacommunications network 414 (FIG. 4)) of the user such that the viewingprogress now reflects that the current point of playback is in the fifthepisode of the series.

At step 604, the media guidance application estimates (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a date of completion of the series of mediacontent based on the viewing progress of the user. For example, themedia guidance application may determine a rate (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) at which the user consumes the series of mediacontent (e.g., by determining the average rate at which a user haspreviously consumed media content as indicated by a user profile locatedat storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or any location accessible viacommunications network 414 (FIG. 4)). The media guidance application mayalso determine (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a length ofthe series of media content (e.g., based on guidance data retrieved(e.g., from media guidance data source 418 (FIG. 4))).

The media guidance application may then determine (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)), given the rate at which the user consumes theseries of media content and the length of the series of media content,an amount of time required to consume the entire length of the series ofmedia content, and add the amount of time required to consume the entirelength of the series of media content to a current date (e.g.,determine, based on a clock or calendar function incorporated into oraccessible by control circuitry, 304 (FIG. 3)) or estimate the date ofcompletion.

At step 606, the media guidance application determines (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) whether or not the date of completioncorresponds to the availability window. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3))whether or not the estimated date of completion falls within the timeperiod during which the media content is available by comparing the dateof completion to the range of dates corresponding to the availabilitywindow. In another example, the media guidance application may determine(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that the availability windowcorresponds to the release of new media content related to alreadyreleased media content. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that the userwishes to consume already released media content (e.g., previous seasonsof a television program) before new media content is released (e.g.,before the start of the new season of the television program). Forexample, the series of media content may correspond to a program serieswith a finite number of released episodes, and the date of completionmay correspond to a date when the viewing progress of the user includesan episode, of the finite number of released episodes, that was mostrecently released.

At step 608, in response to determining that the date of completion doesnot correspond to the availability window, the media guidanceapplication recommends (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) anaction to accelerate the viewing progress of the user. For example, themedia guidance application may recommend (e.g., on display 312 (FIG. 3))an action (e.g., option 206 (FIG. 2)) that accelerates the viewingprogress of the user by advancing a current point of playback in theseries of media content to a later point of playback in the series ofmedia content. For example, in response to determining that the userwill not finish a movie given the current playback position of the user,the media guidance application may notify the user (e.g., via alert 204(FIG. 2)) and recommend that the user fast-forward or skip over aportion of the movie so that the user may finish the movie.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may further identify(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a portion of the series ofmedia content subject to the action based on critical reviews, usercomments, or data received from another remote source (e.g., mediaguidance data source 418 (FIG. 4)). For example, in response todetermining that the date of completion does not correspond to theavailability window, the media guidance application may identifyportions of the media content (e.g., particular scenes, chapters,episodes, etc.) that may be subject to the action (e.g., fast-forwardedthrough, skipped over, etc.) based on data that indicates particularportions are unimportant in the understanding of a plot-line of theseries of media content, uninteresting to the user (e.g., based on userpreferences stored in a user profile), or non-substantive (e.g.,end-credit sequences, title intros, etc.).

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 6 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 6 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could beused to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for recommending afast-access playback operation to perform on a media asset to rectify adiscrepancy between the amount of time remaining in the current trip andthe amount of time remaining in the media asset. It should be noted thatprocess 700 or any step thereof could be performed on, or provided by,any of the devices shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example, process 700 may beexecuted by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) as instructed by a mediaguidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipmentdevices 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4)) in order to recommend afast-access playback operation to perform on a media asset to rectify adiscrepancy between the amount of time remaining in the current trip andthe amount of time remaining in the media asset. In addition, one ormore steps of process 700 may be incorporated into or combined with oneor more steps of any other process or embodiment (e.g., as described inrelation to FIGS. 6 and 8-9)).

At step 702, the media guidance application determines (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) an amount of time remaining in a currenttrip of a user. For example, the media guidance application maydetermine (e.g., via a user input or through automatic detection) atravel itinerary associated with the current trip of a user. The travelitinerary may include information associated with a destinationlocation, an arrival time, and/or a travel route. Based on a travelitinerary associated with the current trip of a user, the media guidanceapplication may determine that a user is currently fifteen minutes awayfrom his or her destination.

For example, as discussed in relation to FIG. 5, in some embodiments,the media guidance application may compute (e.g., via control circuitry304 (FIG. 3)) the length of the current trip based on mathematicalcomputations involving the characteristics of the travel itinerary(e.g., destination location 502 (FIG. 5), departure location 504 (FIG.5), travel route 506 (FIG. 5), current position 510 (FIG. 5) and/orcurrent speed). For example, having determined the distance to thedestination (e.g., destination location 502 (FIG. 5)) from the currentposition of a user (e.g., current position 510 (FIG. 5)), the route(e.g., travel route 506 (FIG. 5)), and/or speed of travel from one ormore of the techniques described above, the media guidance applicationmay divide (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the distance bythe speed to determine the length of time remaining in the current trip.

At step 704, the media guidance application determines (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) an amount of time remaining in a mediaasset being consumed by the user during the current trip. For example,the media guidance application may determine (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) an amount of time between a current point ofplayback (e.g., the forty-minute mark) in the media asset and an endpoint (e.g., the sixty-minute mark in an hour-long media asset) of themedia asset.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may retrieve data(e.g., from media guidance data source 418 (FIG. 4)) that indicates thetotal play length of the media content. The media guidance applicationmay then subtract (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the totalplay length from the current point of playback to determine the amountof time length in the media content.

At step 706, the media guidance application compares (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the amount of time remaining in the current tripto the amount of time remaining in the media asset. For example, themedia guidance application may compare (e.g., via control circuitry 304(FIG. 3)) the amount of time remaining in the current trip to the amountof time remaining in the media asset to determine (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) whether or not the user will finish the mediaasset prior to the end of the current trip.

At step 708, in response to detecting a discrepancy between the amountof time remaining in the current trip and the amount of time remainingin the media asset, the media guidance application recommends (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a fast-access playback operation toperform on the media asset to rectify the discrepancy. For example, themedia guidance application may generate for display (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) an overlay (e.g., alert 504 (FIG. 2)) featuringvarious options (e.g., option 508 (FIG. 5)) for fast-forwarding,skipping a portion of the media asset, etc. Additionally, the mediaguidance application may generate for display (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) summary information associated with a portion ofthe media asset subject to the fast-access playback operation.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may also monitor(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the progress of the currenttrip of the user. For example, the media guidance application mayreceive (e.g., via I/O path 302 (FIG. 3)) updates to the travelitinerary. In response to determining (e.g., via control circuitry 304(FIG. 3)) a change in the determined travel itinerary, the mediaguidance application may recalculate (e.g., via control circuitry 304(FIG. 3)) the amount of time remaining in the current trip. Afterrecalculating the amount of time remaining in the current trip the mediaguidance application may recommend, if any, different fast-accessplayback operations to the user.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 7 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 7 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could beused to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining a playbackoperation that corresponds to the amount of acceleration needed. Itshould be noted that process 800 or any step thereof could be performedon, or provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example,process 800 may be executed by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) asinstructed by a media guidance application implemented on a user device(e.g., user equipment devices 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4)) in order todetermine a playback operation that corresponds to the amount ofacceleration needed. In addition, one or more steps of process 800 maybe incorporated into or combined with one or more steps of any otherprocess or embodiment (e.g., as described in relation to FIGS. 6-7 and9)).

At step 802, the media guidance application estimates (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the time required to complete media content. Forexample, as discussed above in relation to step 604 (FIG. 6)), the mediaguidance application may determine a rate (e.g., via control circuitry304 (FIG. 3)) at which the user consumes media content (e.g., bydetermining the average rate at which a user has previously consumedmedia content as indicated by a user profile located at storage 308(FIG. 3) and/or any location accessible via communications network 414(FIG. 4)). The media guidance application may also determine (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a length of the media content (e.g.,based on guidance data retrieved (e.g., from media guidance data source418 (FIG. 4))).

The media guidance application may then determine (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)), given the rate at which the user consumes themedia content and the length of the media content, an amount of timerequired to consume the entire length of the media content, and add theamount of time required to consume the entire length of the mediacontent to a current time (e.g., determine based on a clock or calendarfunction incorporated into or accessible by control circuitry 304 (FIG.3)) to estimate the time required to complete the media content.

At step 804, the media guidance application determines (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) whether the estimated time correspondsto a period of accessibility. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine whether or not the estimated time correspondsto an availability window of the media content. For example, the mediaguidance application may retrieve (e.g., from storage 308 (FIG. 3)and/or any location accessible via communications network 414 (FIG. 4))the time or times when the media content is accessible. The mediaguidance application may then compare (e.g., via control circuitry 304(FIG. 3)) the estimated time to the time or times when the media contentis accessible.

If the media guidance application determines (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that the estimated time does not correspond tothe period of accessibility, the media guidance application proceeds tostep 814. If the media guidance application determines (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that the estimated time does correspondto the period of accessibility, the media guidance application proceedsto step 806.

At step 806, the media guidance application determines whether or notthe estimated time corresponds to a battery-life of a device upon whichthe media content is being consumed. For example, the media guidanceapplication (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) may determinethat the user will require forty more minutes to complete the mediacontent. However, the media guidance application may also determine(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the length of time that theuser device upon which the user is consuming the media content canpresent the media content (e.g., based on battery-life informationreceived by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) battery-life. If thebattery-life remaining amounts to only thirty minutes, the mediaguidance application may generate for display an alert (e.g., alert 204(FIG. 2)) notifying the user that the user device may turn off prior tothe user completing the media asset.

If the media guidance application determines (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that the estimated time does not correspond tothe battery-life of the device, the media guidance application proceedsto step 814. If the media guidance application determines (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that the estimated time does correspondto the battery-life of the device, the media guidance applicationproceeds to step 808.

At step 808, the media guidance application determines whether or notthe estimated time corresponds to a schedule of a user. For example, themedia guidance application (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3))may determine that the user will require forty more minutes to completethe media content. However, the media guidance application may alsodetermine (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that the user onlyhas thirty minutes left before being an activity during which the usercannot consume the media asset. For example, the media guidanceapplication may receive information (e.g., via I/O path 302 (FIG. 3))from a calendar or appointment application incorporated into, oraccessible by, the media guidance application.

For example, the media guidance application may receive information fromone or more devices (e.g., user equipment device 402, 404, and/or 406(FIG. 4)) indicating that the user must attend school or be at work at aparticular time. The media guidance application may also determine(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that a user cannot consumemedia content at these locations. For example, the media guidanceapplication may cross-reference the location with a database (e.g.,located at storage 308 (FIG. 3) or any location accessible viacommunications network 414 (FIG. 4)) listing locations at which a usercannot consume media content).

If the media guidance application determines (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that the estimated time does not correspond tothe schedule of the user, the media guidance application proceeds tostep 814. If the media guidance application determines (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that the estimated time does correspondto the schedule of the user, the media guidance application proceeds tostep 810.

At step 810, the media guidance application determines whether or notthe estimated time corresponds to another objective of the user. Forexample, the media guidance application (e.g., via control circuitry 304(FIG. 3)) may determine that the user will require forty more minutes tocomplete a season of a television series. However, the media guidanceapplication may also determine (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG.3)) that the user has only thirty minutes remaining before the newseason premiere of the television series. Furthermore, the mediaguidance application may determine (e.g., based on user preferencesincluded in a user profile stored in storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or anylocation accessible via communications network 414 (FIG. 4)) that theuser wishes to complete the previous season prior to the seasonpremiere. In response to determining that the user does not have enoughtime to complete the previous season, the media guidance application maygenerate for display an alert (e.g., alert 204 (FIG. 2)) notifying theuser.

If the media guidance application determines (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) that the estimated time does correspond to oneor more objectives of the user, the media guidance application proceedsto step 812 and presents the media content. If the media guidanceapplication determines (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) thatthe estimated time does not correspond to one or more objectives of theuser, the media guidance application proceeds to step 814.

At step 814, the media guidance application determines (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a playback operation that corresponds tothe amount of acceleration needed in order for the estimated timerequired to complete the media content to correspond. For example, themedia guidance application may determine the difference between theestimated time and the period of accessibility (step 804), thebattery-life of the device (e.g., step 806), the schedule of the user(e.g., step 808), and/or the other objectives of the user (e.g., step810). The media guidance application may then cross-reference thisamount with a database listing an amount of acceleration associated withvarious fast-access playback operations to select a fast-access playbackoperation to recommend (e.g., in display 200 (FIG. 2)) to a user.

It should be noted that in some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may perform one or more iterations of process 800 todetermine a fast-access playback operation that corresponds to one ormore of the period of accessibility (step 804), the battery-life of thedevice (e.g., step 806), the schedule of the user (e.g., step 808), andthe other objectives of the user (e.g., step 810). It should also benoted that, in some embodiments, process 800 may not include all thesteps shown. For example, the media guidance application may notdetermine whether or not the estimated time corresponds to one or moreof the period of accessibility (step 804), the battery-life of thedevice (e.g., step 806), the schedule of the user (e.g., step 808),and/or the other objectives of the user (e.g., step 810).

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 8 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 8 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could beused to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for recommending fast-accessplayback operations with supplemental information. FIG. 9 is a flowchartof illustrative steps for determining a playback operation thatcorresponds to the amount of acceleration needed. It should be notedthat process 900 or any step thereof could be performed on, or providedby, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example, process 900 maybe executed by control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) as instructed by a mediaguidance application implemented on a user device (e.g., user equipmentdevices 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4)) in order to recommend fast-accessplayback operations with supplemental information. In addition, one ormore steps of process 900 may be incorporated into or combined with oneor more steps of any other process or embodiment (e.g., as described inrelation to FIGS. 6-8)).

At step 902, the media guidance application detects (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a discrepancy between the availability of themedia content and the amount of time remaining in the media content. Forexample, the media guidance application may determine (e.g., controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a difference in the amount of time remaining inthe availability window of the media content and a length of timerequired for a user to consume the remaining portion of the mediacontent. For example, in response to determining that, at the given rateof progress, the user will not finish the media content until the mediacontent is no longer available, the media guidance application maynotify the user (e.g., as shown and described in relation to FIG. 2)).

At step 904, the media guidance application retrieves (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a fast-access playback operation. For example,the media guidance application may generate for display (e.g., usingcontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) one or more default fast-playbackoperation or the media guidance application may select one or morefast-access playback operation based on the size of the discrepancy(e.g., as discussed in relation to FIG. 7). In some embodiments, thefast-access playback operations that are available (or correspond to thediscrepancy) may be retrieved from local (e.g., storage 308 (FIG. 3)) orremote (e.g., a location accessible via communication network 414 (FIG.4)) storage. The media guidance application may then retrieve one of theavailable fast-access playback operation.

At step 906, the media guidance application determines (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) whether or not supplemental informationis available for the retrieve fast-access playback operation. Forexample, the media guidance application may recommend (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) one or more fast-access playback operations suchas fast-forwarding the content, skipping a portion of the content, etc.Additionally, the media guidance application may provide (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) supplemental information (e.g., textualsummary, highlight clips, etc.) regarding the portion of the mediacontent that was subject to the fast-access playback operation (e.g.,fast-forwarded through, skipped over, etc.) due to the action. Forexample, the supplemental information may describe the content orcontext of a portion of the media content that was subject to thefast-access playback operation. In some embodiments, some fast-accessplayback operations may be associated with supplemental information.

For example, a fast-access playback operation associated with skipping achapter may be associated with supplemental information that describesthe plot-line or other events of the skipped chapter. Alternatively, afast-access playback operation associated with fast-forwarding throughmedia content may not be associated with any supplemental information.

If supplemental content is available for the fast-access playbackoperation, the media guidance application determines a portion of themedia content subject to the fast-access playback operation at step 908.At step 908, the media guidance application determines (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the beginning point and the end point ofthe portion of media content that is subject to the fast-access playbackoperation. In some embodiments, the media guidance application mayselect the beginning and ending point of the portion based on thedivisions associated with the media content. For example, the mediaguidance application may assign the beginning and end points of theportion to the beginning and end points of scenes, episodes, etc. withinthe media content. Alternatively or additionally, the media guidanceapplication may identify portions of the media content for which thesupplemental information is available or for which critical reviews,user comments, etc. have indicated are uninteresting, unimportant, etc.as described above.

At step 910, the media guidance application cross-references the portionwith a database listing supplemental information associated withdifferent portions of the media asset to determine supplementalinformation associated with the portion. For example, the media guidanceapplication may cross-reference the identified portion with a database(e.g., location locally at storage 308 (FIG. 3) or remotely at anylocation accessible via communications network 414 (FIG. 4)) todetermine one or more types of supplemental content that corresponds tothe portion.

At step 912, the media guidance application determines whether or notthere are any additional fast-access playback operations. For example,in some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate fordisplay (e.g., on display 312) recommendations for one or morefast-access playback operations. In such cases, the media guidanceapplication may deter (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3))supplemental information associated with those fast-access playbackoperations. If the media guidance application determines that there areno additional fast-access playback operations, the media guidanceapplication proceeds to step 914.

At step 914, the media guidance application recommends the fast-accessplayback operations to rectify the discrepancy. For example, the mediaguidance application may generate an overlay featuring one or morefast-access playback operation options (e.g., option 208 (FIG. 2)). Ifavailable, the media guidance application may also present thesupplemental information associated with a fast-access playbackoperation.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 9 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 9 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could beused to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 9.

The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are presentedfor purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the presentdisclosure is limited only by the claims that follow. Furthermore, itshould be noted that the features and limitations described in any oneembodiment may be applied to any other embodiment herein, and flowchartsor examples relating to one embodiment may be combined with any otherembodiment in a suitable manner, done in different orders, or done inparallel. In addition, the systems and methods described herein may beperformed in real time. It should also be noted that the systems and/ormethods described above may be applied to, or used in accordance with,other systems and/or methods.

1. A method for adjusting an amount of time required to consume mediaassets, the method comprising: determining, using control circuitry, anamount of time remaining in a current trip of a user; determining, usingthe control circuitry, an amount of time remaining in a media assetbeing consumed by the user during the current trip; comparing, using thecontrol circuitry, the amount of time remaining in the current trip tothe amount of time remaining in the media asset; and in response todetecting a discrepancy between the amount of time remaining in thecurrent trip and the amount of time remaining in the media asset,recommending a fast-access playback operation to perform on the mediaasset to rectify the discrepancy.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theamount of time remaining in the media asset corresponds to an amount oftime between a current point of playback in the media asset and an endpoint of the media asset.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein rectifyingthe discrepancy includes advancing a current point of playback in themedia asset to a later point of playback in the media asset such that anamount of time between the later point of playback and an end point ofthe media asset is less than the amount of time remaining in the currenttrip.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the recommended fast-accessplayback operation is generated for display as an overlay on the mediaasset.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the discrepancy is detected inresponse to determining that the amount of time remaining in the currenttrip is less than the amount of time remaining in the media asset. 6.The method of claim 1, further comprising generating for display summaryinformation associated with a portion of the media asset subject to thefast-access playback operation.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising determining a travel itinerary associated with the currenttrip of the user, wherein the amount of time remaining in the currenttrip of the user is based on the travel itinerary.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, further comprising determining the travel itinerary based on auser input.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the travel itineraryincludes information associated with at least one of a destinationlocation, an arrival time, and a travel route.
 10. The method of claim7, further comprising in response to determining a change in thedetermined travel itinerary, recalculating the amount of time remainingin the current trip.
 11. A system for adjusting an amount of timerequired to consume media assets, the system comprising: controlcircuitry configured to: determine an amount of time remaining in acurrent trip of a user; determine an amount of time remaining in a mediaasset being consumed by the user during the current trip; compare theamount of time remaining in the current trip to the amount of timeremaining in the media asset; and in response to detecting a discrepancybetween the amount of time remaining in the current trip and the amountof time remaining in the media asset, recommend a fast-access playbackoperation to perform on the media asset to rectify the discrepancy. 12.The system of claim 11, wherein the amount of time remaining in themedia asset corresponds to an amount of time between a current point ofplayback in the media asset and an end point of the media asset.
 13. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein rectifying the discrepancy includesadvancing a current point of playback in the media asset to a laterpoint of playback in the media asset such that an amount of time betweenthe later point of playback and an end point of the media asset is lessthan the amount of time remaining in the current trip.
 14. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the recommended fast-access playback operation isgenerated for display as an overlay on the media asset.
 15. The systemof claim 11, wherein the discrepancy is detected in response todetermining that the amount of time remaining in the current trip isless than the amount of time remaining in the media asset.
 16. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry is further configuredto generate for display summary information associated with a portion ofthe media asset subject to the fast-access playback operation.
 17. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry is further configuredto determine a travel itinerary associated with the current trip of theuser, wherein the amount of time remaining in the current trip of theuser is based on the travel itinerary.
 18. The system of claim 17,wherein the control circuitry is further configured to determine thetravel itinerary based on a user input.
 19. The system of claim 17,wherein the travel itinerary includes information associated with atleast one of a destination location, an arrival time, and a travelroute.
 20. The system of claim 17, wherein the control circuitry isfurther configured to recalculate the amount of time remaining in thecurrent trip in response to determining a change in the determinedtravel itinerary. 21-50. (canceled)